Stay Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Thick, pillowy Chocolate Chip Cookies with pudding mix are stuffed full of chocolate chips and stay incredibly soft for days – if they last that long! Perfect for a quick treat, making ahead, or shipping off to a loved one. No dough chilling required!
Is any food item as universally-appreciated as a thick, chewy chocolate chip cookie? If so, I have yet to come across it. Just the smell of these wafting from the oven is enough to make you feel cozy and cared for. There’s a reason realtors often put plates of cookies out during an open house: it helps make the house feel like home.
Thousands of chocolate chip cookie recipes are percolating out there, most of them very similar to one another. This one just happens to be our family forever favorite.
Why? This recipe for super soft cookies is faster and easier to make than my runner-up favorite thick and chewy chocolate chip cookies. But even more importantly, the soft cookies have more staying power. They will remain as tender as the moment you pulled them out of the oven even after several days.
If you try not to eat all the cookies in one sitting, like me, this is a good thing, indeed.
Why You’ll Love Them
To recap, these cookies are:
- Incredibly soft and pillowy.
- Intensely flavored with the richness of butter and warmth of vanilla.
- Made in ONE bowl.
- Made with NO DOUGH CHILLING required.
The Secret Ingredient
So what makes this magic? A simple box of vanilla instant pudding mix.
If it seems odd, I promise that after you try it, you’ll be hooked!
Why does pudding mix make amazing cookies? Cornstarch! Cornstarch is a key ingredient in instant pudding mix, and not only does it help keep the cookies perfectly soft, its binding properties help prevent the cookies from spreading as they bake. The result? You do NOT need to chill this dough to get perfect results.
Just be sure to purchase instant pudding mix. You’ll need one small (3.4 ounce) box per batch of cookies.
How To Make Perfectly Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Cream together butter and sugars. A blend of white and brown sugar produces the best result. An electric mixer is helpful but not necessary–you can cream butter and sugar with a spatula and some elbow grease, too.
- Add the packet of vanilla pudding powder and mix well to incorporate.
- Add eggs and vanilla. Beat well. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl at this point, to ensure even mixing.
- Sprinkle dry ingredients–flour, baking soda, and salt–over the mixture and blend just until it forms an even dough. Don’t over mix at this point.
- Pour in chocolate chips and stir by hand.
I like to use a lot of chocolate chips – a full 12 ounce bag in each batch. Too much chocolate is not a thing. You can also use a mix of chocolate chips and chunks.
Room Temperature Butter
For best results, you want to be sure you’re using room temperature butter. It’s impossible to cream butter together with sugar if the butter is cold or at all melted, and the unique texture of creamed sugar and butter is the base of this chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Room temperature butter will have some give but is not overly soft. You should be able to press a finger or thumb into it and leave an indent, as shown below, but it shouldn’t melt or be greasy at all.
Need to get butter to room temperature quickly? This bowl of water tip from Bigger Bolder Baking works perfectly!
More Tips & Tricks
- Use a cookie scoop for ease and perfectly portioned cookies.
- Press a few chocolate chips into the top of each dough ball either before baking or right after they cookies come out of the oven. It looks pretty and adds more chocolate!
- Don’t over bake! Take care to remove the cookies from the oven just when the base looks a bit golden. The dough on the top center will still look very soft — they’ll firm up to the perfect texture as the cookies cool down.
How To Freeze Cookie Dough
These soft chocolate chip cookies also freeze beautifully as dough balls prior to baking. This means it’s incredibly easy to pull out a few at a time from your freezer and produce fresh, warm chocolate chip cookies from the oven on demand!
Simply make the chocolate chip cookie dough as directed, scoop mounds onto a parchment-lined baking sheet or plate, and place in the freezer, uncovered, for about an hour. This first step flash freezes the dough balls so they don’t stick together and are easy to separate when you want to bake them later.
After an hour, you can combine the frozen cookie dough balls in an airtight container or zip-top plastic bag and transfer to the freezer. They will keep well for at least 3 months.
When ready to bake, place cookies directly from the freezer onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake as directed, adding just 1-2 minutes to the baking time.
More Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, absolutely! While semi-sweet chocolate chips are most commonly used in chocolate chip cookies, other types work, as well. Milk chocolate chips have a relatively low cocoa content and will yield a very, very sweet cookie. Bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks, however, have a higher cocoa content (generally above 70%) and deliver a less sweet cookie with an elevated, intense chocolate profile.
Yes! Feel free to experiment. Standard vanilla pudding mix will impart a classic, unadulterated chocolate chip cookie flavor. Use French vanilla for a little extra sweetness, chocolate pudding for, well, more chocolate, etc.!
These cookies are so quick and easy to make, they’re a perfect go-to when you need a last-minute treat. At the same time, because they keep so well, they’re also ideal for making a little bit ahead of time, or for packaging up for a trip or sending in a sweet little care package.
More Chocolate Cookie Recipes
- Sea Salt Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Salted Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Chocolate-Dipped Almond Biscotti
- Toffee Butterscotch Brownie Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Mini M&M Cookies
If you try these Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. I love hearing how recipes turn out in your kitchen, and it helps other readers, too.
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Stay Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks, 227 grams) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (160 grams) brown sugar light or dark, tightly packed
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 and 1/4 cups (270 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon flaked sea salt
- 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 C). Prepare baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats, if desired, and set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, or mixing by hand with a rubber spatula, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until well-blended. Beat in the instant pudding mix, followed by eggs and vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat until mixture is mostly even.
- Sprinkle the flour, baking soda, and salt over the dough, then mix just until they are incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips by hand.
- Drop spoonfuls of dough onto baking sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden. Allow cookies to cool for 5-10 minutes on the baking sheets, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cookies will keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for at least 3-4 days.
Notes
- These cookies freeze extremely well as dough balls for future baking. Just shape into balls, place on a baking sheet with a little space in between them, and pop into the freezer for about 30 minutes. That will flash freeze the dough balls, after which you can pile them together in a freezer-safe bag or container without them sticking together. Bake straight from the freezer as needed. Just add 1-2 minutes to the baking time!
- Adapted from this classic on allrecipes.com.
Nutrition Estimate
This post was originally published August 2, 2017, and has been updated with new photos and more helpful recipe tips and tricks.
These cookies look amazing!!! Can the dough be frozen or refrigerated so that all of them don’t have to baked on the same day?
Hi Leona – yes, it can! We refrigerate the dough all the time, then bake as needed. We’ve kept in the fridge up to 4 days with no trouble. I have not personally tried freezing this dough to say for certain, but I strongly suspect it would be fine in the freezer for 2-3 months. It may be easier to form the dough into balls first, then freeze the balls, and bake as desired, just adding a few minutes to the bake time. Thanks so much for stopping by, I really hope you enjoy these!
Thank you!!! I made these last night and they taste amazing!! They’re even better the next day!
I’m so happy that you like them, Leona – and I really appreciate you coming back to let me know! Have an extra today for me with a tall glass of milk! 🙂
Eating the dough with the spoon right? That what i say is (and my kids) is the best part of making cookies!
Agreed with you there, all the way! 🙂
I’m having major cravings looking at these cookies right now. They look lovely!
Thanks so much, Jenni!
Nothing beats a chocolate chip cookie and the world could never have too many recipes for them! Love this.
So true! Thanks, Debs, for stopping by!
So funny seeing this today. My son and I were just talking about making cookies last night. Will have to save your recipe for our cooking baking adventure.
Sounds like it’s kismet – I see cookies in your future! 🙂
The pudding is a clever idea for those who prefer their cookies soft! (Is’t it good to have a choice?) Chocolate chip cookies are such a classic, but at the same time can be varied to taste – win-win!
Absolutely, Anne! I love all chocolate chip cookies, and it is wonderful to be able to do them many different ways. 🙂
I have not had a chocolate chip cookie in so long! These lovely cookies are calling my name. I love the chocolate chip to cookie ratio being high… it’s all about the chocolate IMHO. That blue board is stunning!
Thanks so much, Tamara! Agreed on the chocolate, and yes, Erin @ The Wooden Skillet really does a nice job with the backdrops!
There is nothing better than a great chocolate chip cookie. It has been a favorite because the taste is outstanding. Your cookies look like they have the perfect texture and amount of chocolate chips.
Thanks so much, Marisa!
My husband absolutely loves soft chocolate chip cookies like these! I’ll have to make these for his birthday next week. So yummy!
Hi Christine – fantastic! I hope they make his day extra delicious! I’d love to know how they turn out for you!
Holy moly! These cookies look FABULOUS! I love that they stay soft! And yes, one simply must use the whole bag of chocolate chips in one’s cookies, mustn’t one? I can’t wait to make your delicious cookies! And for the record, I think your photos are all that, and then some. 😉
Yes! I mean, why save just a few? 🙂 Thanks so much, Elaine, you are too too kind. The photography is turning out to be one of my favorite parts of this whole journey, which is quite the surprise to me!
Putting pudding into your cookie mix is pure genius. I also completely agree that there’s no such thing as too many chocolate chips in a cookie. These would definitely be great for shipping to a friend, or family member, deployed overseas. Of course, if the cookies are in our house for long, they won’t last long,
Yes – these are terrific for shipping! Reasonably sturdy and they stay soft so well. Thanks for stopping by, Patti!
These cookies look practically perfect! Pudding transforms some cakes, so why not cookies?! Such a good idea. I’m pinning this one to try!
Thanks, Rachel!
Oooh – i love a good recipe reshoot! These look absolutely irresistible! Love the addition of a secret ingredient to keep them pillowy soft even after day 1 🙂
Thanks so much, Ashley!
Did you paint that board blue yourself? Also love the pictures! As a fellow cookie monster I am happy to try these 🙂
Hi Jenny! Sadly, no – I only wish I were crafty in that way, ha! I ordered it from fellow food blogger Erin – her Etsy shop is at https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheWoodenSkillet. I got this blue board and a white one, and am super happy with both!
These look absolutely perfect! I’m totally a soft and chewy cookie fan so this is my kind of recipe!
I just want to eat this straight from the bowl, is that bad of me? The way you used instant vanilla pudding mix is genius
First – I think your photos of these cookies are gorgeous and that blue background is too. I was admiring (and coveting!) it before you mentioned reshooting these or where you got it!
Second – YES, hands down, you can never have enough chocolate chips 🙂 And soft chocolate chip cookies are my favorite chocolate chip cookies! 🙂
The blue board looks great! and those cookies – what can I say? I am drooling here! 🙂
These sound like the perfect kind of cookies. If you’re going to have cookies, they surely have to be like this, with that delicious gooey centre. Perfect with a cup of coffee for a break worth waiting for.
Soft chocolate chip cookies are so hard to come by. These are beautiful.
These cookies look so soft and chocolate-y! Yum!
Oh Monica, now I’m going to be dreaming about melty and chewy chocolate chip cookies for the rest of the night! These look ah-mazing! And your photos are gorgeous. Pretty sure I need to make these when I get back from my trip over the weekend, because you’re right: nothing beats the smell of chocolate chip cookies wafting throughout the house 🙂
You’re too kind, Dana! Absolutely whip up a batch when you get home – they make everything that much better. 🙂
I think all cookie problem can be solved by eating them all at once. I think that’s really the only way ti should be done, honestly. I’ve never tried pudding mix in cookies, I love the idea!
Haha… I really like the way you think, Danielle!
I would have never, ever thought of using a pudding mix in these cookies. Great idea to keep them soft! Although, I must admit, I’m the opposite of you… I love a good chocolate chip cookie but for me, there is such a thing as too much chocolate. ha!
Hi Katie – glad you like the pudding idea! I do understand about the chocolate and will say, to each his own! If you come to my house I promise to separate the ones with relatively less chocolate and set them aside for you. 😉
I am in the middle of going back through my old posts and reshooting them — thanks to much improved photography skills as well… LOL! Love the sound of these cookies — with pudding in the dough – dangerous to my skinny jeans, though. I have no self control!
Glad I’m not the only one! Generally speaking, I’m not taking down old pictures, just reposting and putting up new ones, in large part because one of the things I enjoy and derive a lot of inspiration from is seeing how other bloggers’ photo skills and styles have evolved over time.